Chelsea produced a brilliant 90 minutes of football on Wednesday night to triumph 3-1 at Aston Villa, booking our place in the fourth round of this season's FA Cup in the process.

Three excellent goals by Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez secured our progress in the competition, but it was the way the whole team looked relaxed and happy on the pitch which particularly pleased Mauricio Pochettino.

‘I am very pleased, first of all because the players were fantastic,' said our head coach. 'They played very well, were free and enjoyed the game - which is important because football should be about joy - against a team that is doing a fantastic job, that is so difficult to beat here. They are full of confidence in the top four.

‘That is why I am really pleased with the performance because I think it will provide us the capacity to really believe that if we all fight together and approach games the way we approached the game today we are capable of performing in this way.

‘I think it was one of the best performances of the season, we played well against a very difficult team. Aston Villa is doing a fantastic job and are opposition who are in the top four and are the second best team playing at home.

‘That is why it was really difficult but we are so pleased with the performance. I think the players believed and the way we played was fantastic, so we need to say congratulations to the players.’

Pochettino felt it was a great way to respond following defeat in our last match at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers...

'I think we dominated and in the end we were the better side. For me the key was the way the team reacted after the Wolves game, in the way that we trained, in the way that we talked, the way the players were in the meeting. The feeling translated to me also, it is important to be all together.

'Today I really enjoyed it on the touchline because a not so good result can arrive but in this way for sure, with this group of talented young players who we still need to provide the consistency, I think we can succeed in the end all together.'

Mauricio also shared credit with the travelling Chelsea supporters, who he felt were brilliant at Villa Park...

'It’s so important to create a very good energy between our fans, the club and the players, because the players need help from their fans and today the fans were fantastic.

'With this connection, this energy and the players on the pitch showing that they care about the club and want to win and succeed, only good things can happen.

'We took the right approach, we were united, we fought for each other, we fought for our fans, we fought for the badge, we fought for the staff. That is the connection that we need to have.'